No Second Chances
by prince hans
Summary: "Who are you to talk, anyways?" she asked, staring into his bright green eyes. "To talk to me about facades? You... you tricked me into believing you were Prince Charming, but then turned out to be a power hungry jerk! Even now, when you've lost everything, you still pretend you've won the world!" Hans/Anna. AU where he wasn't sent back to the Southern Isles!
1. Chapter 1

Anna walked down the dirty halls of the dungeon, a bubbly determination in her step. Today, she was going to do it. She was going to face Hans. It had been over a week, and she still had yet to visit the prince. To ask him what had happened. She was scared. Scared that she would fall for him again. Scared that he would try to hurt her again. Simply... scared.

But not anymore. Her heels sent sharp echoes through the hall, and it made her feel powerful. She was in complete control this time. She forced her usually pleasant face to take on a tough and haughty expression as she neared Hans' cell. There was no sweet and kind Anna today. Not now.

When she got to the cell doors, she paused, her confident facade slipping for just a moment. Hans sat in the darkest corner of the small room, dark shadows hiding the details in his features. His head was bowed, and his figure slumped. It seemed as if he hadn't even heard her come in. Was he sleeping?

Anna cleared her throat, trying to wake the fallen prince. After a moment, he lifted his head, and the light from the tiny cell window shined on him.

Inwardly, Anna began to panic.

He looked terrible. His hair was a dishevelled mess, sticking up at odd ends. His uniform was rumpled and stained with dirt and, _oh god_, was that blood? His skin was a sick pale color and contrasted to a dark purple bruise shadowing his nose. His one bright green eyes were sunken in, and didn't hold the spark of confidence they used to. It was almost as if he was a different person. Was this even the prince she once knew?

She looked to the other cells down the hall, but the one she stood at was definitely Prince Hans'.

A chuckle snapped her out of her mini panic.

"Anna," Hans purred, his voice low, "What brings you to my… _humble_ abode?" His voice was silky smooth, but held a strained undertone to it, as if he was forcing himself to sound normal.

The strain went unnoticed by Anna, and she frowned. _There_ was the prince she knew. Anna straightened her shoulders and puffed up her chest, trying to appear powerful. She would not be swayed by him.

"I came to speak to you," she said gruffly, in what she hoped was an authoritative voice. When Hans laughed again, she frowned.

"What's so funny?" she snapped, crossing her arms in front of her chest. Hans didn't reply, opting to stare long and hard at her with a smug grin that didn't reach his eyes instead. She had no idea what he could be so happy about. He was in prison, after all.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked, beginning to get annoyed. Hans simply shrugged.

"I don't understand why you're acting like that," he stated calmly, "We both know you're nothing more than a naive little princess with not an ounce of authority in her bones."

His unexpected words stung, and she grit her teeth, willing herself not to show how much it actually hurt. No. He would not control this conversation. If she were to get anywhere with him, she had to show him who was boss. Fishing the ring of keys out of her pocket, Anna slid the correct key into the keyhole, and opened up the barred door. She closed it behind her with a loud clang, and stomped over to the slumped prince.

She leaned down towards him and grabbed his face by the jaw, fingers squishing his cheeks inwards.

"I am a princess of Arendelle. You are a prisoner under the crime of treason, and you will show me respect!" she shouted, her voice raising half an octave. Never before had she yelled at someone like this, and it had her heart racing. "Who are you to talk, anyways?" she asked, staring into his bright green eyes. "To talk to me about facades? You... you tricked me into believing you were Prince Charming, but then you turned out being a power hungry jerk! Even now, when you've lost everything, you still pretend you've won the world!"

She let go of his face, chest heaving with adrenaline. Hans stared up at her, his eyes wide with disbelief. She cocked her hip to the side and frowned down at him. "Remember this, Prince Hans. I am the one next in line to the throne. You have twelve older brothers. I am a princess. You… what are you now?" She began to walk back out of the prison cell, only turned back to him when she had once again shut the door.

"You are _nothing_."

With that, she locked the door and quickly walked out of the prison, leaving a completely dumbfounded Hans in her wake.

Her last words still echoed loudly in the prince's mind. He stared down at the stone floor, blinking slowly. His smug facade completely disappeared as the words processed through his mind.

He was nothing.

* * *

**A/N: this is very short, because i typed it all out in a hurry! next chapter being worked on immediately!**

**this is going to end up being hans/anna, and WILL have smut in the very near future. whoops.**

**this is my (poor) attempt at writing a hans-centered fic. he's my favorite character, but also very complicated to write! too many sides of him ew ew ew stop being complicated, hans.**

**i'm very open to critiques and ideas to better the story! review please UvU **

**edit: i'm very aware the first chapter of this story is quite weak. but the second chapter is out and in my opinion, its much much stronger! **


	2. Chapter 2

**NOTE: THIS IS REALLY LONG AND I APOLOGIZE IN ADVANCE.**

* * *

Hans sat in the corner of his prison cell, eyes blankly staring ahead of him. It had been over an hour since the princess had left, but her words still repeated over and over in his mind.

_You are nothing_.

"I'm nothing," he repeated quietly to himself. It was true. By now, news had most certainly spread throughout the Southern Isles of his bad behavior. No doubt his brothers were planning a cruel punishment for him for when he returned. He was sure half of his brothers were rooting for the death penalty, while others voted for him to be cast out of the castle. He was nothing to them. He was nothing to everyone.

Hans was completely stunned at his thoughts. What had happened to the confident young man that was Prince Hans? Was that even him anymore? Right now he should be angry, he should be furious at Princess Anna for talking down to him that way! But he wasn't. Hans did not feel one spark of anger. Why should he? What she said was true. He had nothing now. He was nothing now. So instead of having a fit, like the usual Prince Hans might do, he simply sat, staring at the wall with his dull green eyes. He didn't speak. He didn't eat the terrible food the guards brought in for him. He almost didn't want to breathe. At this point, Hans was completely and utterly empty.

All ambitions and hopes Hans had for the future had been completely wiped off the board. Wedding Princess Anna had been his last attempt at proving himself to the world. Proving that he could be better. Being the youngest child, he was continuously outshone by his older brothers. There was nothing special about him that wasn't shared by his siblings. Sure, he had talents, but nothing the others couldn't excel at. And to top it all off, he was the unlucky thirteen, a mistake. Countless times his brothers would remind him of it. Remind him that he would amount to nothing, that _he_ was nothing.

"I am nothing," he repeated, this time not only echoing Anna, but his brothers, too.

He was supposed to have gone home to the Southern Isles a hero. He could almost picture the news being spread through the towns. The young and handsome thirteenth prince with his newly wed bride, celebrated for defeating the snow queen and returning summer to Arendelle. By now, he should have had a kingdom of his own. But he had failed.

Now, he had nothing left. Arendelle had been his one set goal. His goal to show his brothers he could be incredible. To show them they were wrong. And now? He laughed, the sound empty and hollow. Now there were no more chances. It was all over.

The worst part about it was the fact that he knew he had gone about it all wrong. He knew he could have won over Anna and Elsa if he had simply been _genuine_. He would have a kingdom by now if he had been _kind_, and it made his blood boil. With an angry shout, Hans slammed a white knuckled fist against the ground and slumped against the stone wall, angry tears falling down his cheeks.

* * *

Anna paced up and down her bedroom, worrying her lip to the point that it was beginning to bleed. She shouldn't have said that to him. Of all the things she could have said, she chose _that_. She had been too harsh.

She was only trying to show her authority. She didn't want to be… rude!

Groaning, the young princess flopped onto her bed, tousling her hair in annoyance. Why was she even worried about this? It wasn't as if Hans would spare her feelings, so why did she care if she hurt his? She was too kind for her own good.

She sat up abruptly. "But still," she mumbled to herself, eyebrows drawn in concern. "I should go apologize to him."

"No, no I shouldn't! He doesn't need my apologies! He tried to kill my sister! He lied to me!" she argued.

"But you still need to speak with him. Just go down and say you're sorry, and then try to talk to him again!"

"Noooo way! He wouldn't want to speak to me right now!"

Anna groaned loudly with agitation. What was she supposed to do? She looked to the window, and watched the sun dip below the horizon. It was too late to go now. She supposed she would go back to the prison tomorrow afternoon to attempt speaking to Hans again. If he looked beaten up about it, she would apologize. If not, she would just talk.

Nodding in agreement with herself, Anna laid back down on her bed and got under the blankets. She wondered how Hans spent his nights. The heavy bags under his eyes she saw earlier that day indicated he didn't sleep much at all. She almost felt sorry for him. She knew what it was like to have sleepless nights. After Hans had revealed his true intentions and had tried to kill Elsa, the nights after were plagued by nightmares. Terrible, evil nightmares. Of her sister dying, of her dying, of Kristoff dying. She once even dreamed of Hans dying. That was a weird one, though, and she had rather not get on the subject.

She figured she shouldn't show sympathy for Hans either way. Sure, he didn't sleep, but neither did she. And he was the cause of it! It was Hans' own selfish actions that put him in that cell, so whatever happened to him was his own fault. Still, she felt the slightest twinge of guilt at the idea of him huddled up in the corner of a dark and cold cell, alone every night and haunted by bad dreams. Sighing, she rolled over, and willed herself not to think of the ginger-headed prince. He was not her problem.

She closed her eyes, and after some trouble, fell into a light sleep.

* * *

_It was dark outside. Unbearably dark. Unbearably cold. Much too quiet. Hans squinted his eyes against the black night, trying to see ahead of him. But there was nothing to see._

_Where was he?_

_Something cracked on the ground next to him. He leaned over, and stretched his fingers to the floor. It was cold, and left his fingers slick._

_Ice?_

_Hans shook his head, confused. Why was there ice beneath him? He got back to his feet and took a few hesitant steps forward, his feet sliding on the ice._

_As he walked on, he noticed an unusual heaviness in his right hand. When he lifted it up towards his face, he saw that he was holding a sword. Had that been there the whole time? Hans frowned, but kept walking._

_As he continued forward, he swore he heard a familiar voice whisper into his ear._

_"Kristoff..."_

_Was that... Anna talking? Hans turned to where he heard the voice, but he couldn't see anything through the suffocating darkness. Her voice whispered past him once more._

_Suddenly, a blinding white spotlight shined on the ground before him. Hans reared back in surprise, shielding his eyes against the harsh light. When his eyes finally adjusted, he saw what lay inside the circle of light._

_It was Elsa._

_The light began to grow and grow, until the whole area was bursting with brightness. Suddenly, the scene was far too familiar._

_Before he could stop himself, words he had said once before were slipping from his mouth. "Elsa, you can't run from this!"_

_No. No, no, no, no. This couldn't be happening. Not again._

_His eyes wide and full of fear, he watched Elsa turn partially towards him. "Just… take care of my sister," she whispered, her voice cracking with unshed tears._

_The prince was filled with dread. He knew what was coming next, and he couldn't stop it. He wasn't in control of his own body. He was slowly forced to walk towards Elsa._

_"Your sister? She returned from the mountain weak and cold. Her hair was white, her skin ice. She said you froze her heart..." Hans tried to stop his tongue, seeing the way Elsa's expression crumbled at his words. He didn't want this to happen again._

_"Your sister is _dead_, because of you."_

_Elsa collapsed with remorse, finally allowing herself to cry. Hans was once again moving towards her, sword arm raising high above his head._

_Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Anna, her hair white, and her skin slowly freezing over. He knew what would happen next._

_Anna began to run towards them, throwing her weak body in front of her sister. Hans' sword continued to go downwards._

_But this time, his sword did not stop. Anna's cold skin did not turn to ice. With horrified eyes, Hans watched as his sword ran through her body, and watched as her light blue eyes gazed at him for a split second, full of accusation and fear, before going foggy and blank. Then, she fell the the icy ground, the area around her quickly becoming stained with dark red blood._

_Hans would have screamed. Would have, if he could. But he could only stare in horror as the body he couldn't control raised his sword again, and served the same fate as Anna to her sister._

_When it was finished, the dripping red blade he held clattered to the ground. A shaky breath of guilty relief. It was over, wasn't it?_

_No._

_He heard the shouts of a man. Kristoff. Hans turned around, an expressionless mask on his face, one he would not have worn if he was in control._

_The blond ice man was staring at him, a look of pure horror on his broad face._

_"You... killed them," he whispered._

_The light around the two men began to fade, until they were once again cast into darkness. Now, a single spotlight shone only on Kristoff._

_"You killed them," he repeated, his voice echoing through the dark. Hans said nothing. Couldn't say anything. Didn't want to say anything._

_Kristoff continued to repeat the words, repeating until they no longer made sense. His face began to morph, taking on the features of Anna. Of Elsa. Of his brothers._

_And then the words began to change._

_"You are nothing."_

_The words engulfed him, loud and angry. The faces of his brothers circled around him, screaming the same words over and over. Anna and Elsa just stared, their eyes cold and accusing. Suddenly, it was getting very hard to breathe. Hans shrunk to his voices grew ever louder, until they were outright roaring._

_The ice beneath him began to crack. And then it was not there at all. Hans plunged into the water, his body burning at first, and then going completely numb._

_As he sunk farther and farther down, the voices grew weaker._

_Then there was nothing at all. Just the water that suffocated and drowned him. Other than that, Hans was completely and utterly alone. As black speckled his vision, there was only one single phrase running through his mind._

_"You are nothing."_

* * *

Hans woke with a start, the beginnings of a scream on the tip of his tongue. He was in complete darkness, and he could hear the beating of his own heart fluttering rapidly against his chest. He bit his tongue hard, and forced himself to take a deep, shaky breath. It wasn't real. It was only a dream.

He told himself those few words over and over, trying to calm his racing heartbeat. Of course it was a dream. He had been having them every night for the past week. At least, every night he slept. Hans slumped down against the stone wall, rolling his heavily shadowed eyes. It looked like another sleepless night was in order. He wondered how he would pass the time. The prince looked down at the dirty floor. He supposed counting the tiles again wouldn't hurt. Perhaps he miscalculated the last few times. With a sigh, Hans forced any thoughts of the nightmare from his mind, and began to replace them with numbers.

"_One… two… three…_"

* * *

Anna sat in front of the mirror, a large fluffy towel wrapped loosely around her body. She stared at her reflection with furrowed eyebrows and a frown.

"You can do this, Anna," she said, giving herself a pep talk. "You go down there, and you talk to him! You can do it!" She nodded once with determination, and quickly stood up to get dressed.

She dropped her towel and walked up to her dresser, opening the double doors and skimming through her dresses. She didn't see the need to dress fancily for Hans, and decided on a simple pale green dress with long white sleeves. Just as Anna was about to slip the dress up her body, she heard a knock at the door. Her sister's voice called from behind the thick wood.

"Come in!" she replied loudly as she shimmied her way into the skirt. It was a tight fit, and was stuck at her hips. When Elsa entered the room, she laughed quietly at her sister's struggle.

"Do you need some help, Anna?" she asked, walking over to the younger girl. Anna smiled awkwardly at her and nodded, turning around so that Elsa could pull it up the rest of the way, and lace the back.

As Elsa tied up the back of Anna's dress, she talked quietly, asking basic questions such as, "How are you?" and "Would you like to invite Kristoff over for dinner tonight?" and Anna answered them easily.

"Are you planning on going somewhere?" Elsa asked calmly as she double knotted the bow, and began working on her younger sister's hair.

Anna, caught off guard, spluttered. "H-huh?!"

Elsa raised a brow at this. "Well, normally you don't get dressed if you don't have to."

Anna tittered nervously, trying to find a response without giving away that she was going to visit Prince Hans. Elsa, of course, was immediately suspicious.

"Are you going to see someone?" A sly smile spread across Elsa's lips. She poked her sister in the side. "Is it Kristoff?" She laughed at the way Anna's cheeks blazed a bright pink.

Anna chuckled nervously, her voice high-pitched from nerves. "You… ya caught me!" she answered awkwardly, giving her sister a lopsided grin. She inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. If she had found out where she was really going…Well, Anna didn't want to think about how mad she would get.

"Oh, look at the time! I'll be late if I don't get going now!" Anna exclaimed, swiveling around to meet her sister. "Thank you for your help with the dress! Uhh, I'll, um." She smiled at her sister. "I'll see you when I get back, okay?"

Elsa was beginning to get confused at her sister's odd behavior, but nodded anyways. "Okay…"

"Great. Bye!" With that, Anna took off, speeding out the door and down the hall before her sister could question her further. She didn't let up her quick pace until she was far from the castle. Once she was at a safe distance, she wiped her brow. "That was a close one." If Elsa knew where she was going, she would be in big trouble. No one was supposed to visit Prince Hans.

Before she had time to feel guilty about breaking the rules, Anna quickly went on her way, practicing in her mind what she would say to the prince.

* * *

Hans knew she would be back the next day. So when he heard the familiar click of heels against stone, it came as no surprise to find the princess standing in front of his cell, a ring of keys clinking together in her hands.

"Anna, what a surprise," he said sarcastically, pulling himself into an upright position. "I had no idea you'd be back so soon."

Anna didn't reply, instead opening the door to his cell and walking in slowly, sitting down on the cot opposite of him. She crossed her legs, and stared at him for a long time. It was beginning to make Hans uncomfortable. He cleared his throat, and squirmed under her intense gaze.

"I'm sorry about what I said yesterday. About you being nothing," Anna finally said, her face softening. Hans scoffed. She was actually apologizing for that? As if. They both knew what she said last night was true. But of course, the princess was too nice for her own good, and wouldn't dare hurt someones feelings on purpose.

"You don't have to lie to make me feel better about myself, Anna." His words came out wrong, almost as if he was _hurt_ by what she had said (he was, but she didn't need to know that!), and he cursed himself mentally. He sounded pathetic. "I don't need your pity," he snapped, noticing her face drop sadly. God, he was already beginning to regret talking to her in the first place.

Anna opened her mouth, looking as if she was about to apologize again, but Hans cut her off with a harsh glare. The room was silent for a long while. Hans looked at the ground, showing her that he was done talking to her. The princess obviously didn't get the message.

"Why did you do it, Hans?" she asked, voice sounding hurt.

Hans sighed. It looked like he wasn't going to be getting rid of the girl so easily. He guessed he would play along with her little game of twenty-four questions, at least for a while. It wasn't as if he had anything better to do.

"Do what?" he asked, even though he knew exactly what she was talking about. Anna gave him a look that said '_if I wasn't so nice, I'd punch you right now_.' "Ah, that. I remember now," he said, clearing his throat. "I thought I explained that to you. I wanted to rule my own kingdom."

Anna shook her head. She knew there was more to it. "Why did you think killing my sister and tricking me into liking you was the way to go? Couldn't you have been, I don't know, _genuine_?" She noticed how Hans flinched slightly at the word, and pressed on.

"I know for a fact you could have gotten what you wanted if you had waited longer. I liked you, Hans! I thought you were my true love! You could have won Elsa over eventually, I know you could have. If you had came here with good intentions, you would be next in line for the throne right about now. You had no reason to get so desperate. So I'm asking you why."

Hans let her words sink in. He knew what she said was true, he had thought the same things himself. So why was he getting so mad?

"'I had no reason to get so desperate'?" he repeated her words harshly, lip curling upwards. "I had every reason, Anna. You don't understand what it's like having twelve older brothers."

"It can't be that bad, Hans-"

Hans immediately cut her off. "Brothers who made it their job to see that each day of my life was miserable," he spat out, a burning anger in his heart at the mention of his siblings. "You remember when I told you about the ones that pretended I was invisible?" Anna nodded, and Hans bitterly continued. "I wish I could say that was the worst of my problems. My brothers… treated me like I was a problem. I guess I was, honestly..." Hans trailed off, shaking his head. Why was he telling Anna all of this? It wasn't any of her business.

"Keep going," she urged, giving him a hesitant smile. Hans grimaced.

"I'm the thirteenth child. I wasn't supposed to be born, you know. It was 'unlucky', I've been told. Anyways, my brothers liked to remind me of it. That I was a mistake, I mean. None of them really liked me…" Inside his head, alarm bells were ringing. He was not supposed to be telling her this. He wasn't supposed to be letting anyone in this far. But god, did it feel good to get it off his chest.

"I guess… it wasn't that bad at first. My mother was there to stop them. But… um. When I was twelve, there was a… sickness going around."

The look Anna gave him showed she knew exactly where this was going.

"It was my fault, really. I caught it and gave it to my mom. Figures the one person who liked you would be the one to die from it, right?" he laughed bitterly, raking a hand through his ginger hair. He didn't dare look up at Anna. Didn't dare look into those eyes full of pity.

"Anyways, after she passed away, my brothers' tormenting skyrocketed. I was their personal punching bag, to put it nicely. After a few years, I got bigger, and the beatings sort of stopped… but that's when all the verbal bullshit started up. 'You're never going to succeed,' 'You aren't good at anything,' 'Mistake.'" He forced himself to look up at Anna now, trying to ignore the way she looked at him. "'You're nothing,'" he said after a moment.

Anna looked away, casting her eyes to the floor.

"I'm sorry," she said slowly, "I didn't know it was like that for you…"

Hans scoffed. "Please, I didn't tell you this to receive your pity. I don't need it," he snapped at her, his voice hard. "All I'm trying to say is, I did everything I could to get them to stop. Having my own kingdom would have shut them up for good. Which, to answer your question, is why I did it. Why I went so far. And to be honest, Anna… I would do it again. A thousand times over, if I had to."

Anna stiffened at this, trying to find words.

"Oh... I see…" she cleared her throat awkwardly. "Let me ask you this, Hans: do you regret not succeeding?" she asked, looking at him with large, sad eyes. As if his words disappointed her.

Hans didn't know how to answer her question. He didn't know the answer himself, so of course, he responded the only way he knew he could in a situation like this. He lied.

"Yes."

He wished he could say it didn't affect him, watching Anna leave. That he didn't begin to miss her merely moments after her figure disappeared behind the prison door. He wished he didn't mind being alone again.

But he did.

* * *

**A/N: holy shit... that was actually a really long chapter. i'm so sorry i got WAYYY ahead of myself. but i hope it was an improvement compared to the first chapter! hans' character is sorta all of the place at the moment, i'm sorry about that... **

**same as before, please review and tell me what you thought! feedback always makes me super happy. thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

Anna didn't go back to Hans' cell for a long time. Four days, to be exact. But who was counting? Certainly not him.

The prince sat in the same dark corner of his room, head thumping into the stone wall repeatedly. His eyes were foggy and dull as they stared at the same spot on the wall, completely unfocused. Hans was bored out of his mind, and he was praying the princess would decide to visit him again today.

Why did he have to say that to her? He basically told her he would kill her and her sister again if given the chance! Of all the idiotic moves Hans had done in his life, this definitely ranked in the top ten. He clunked his head against the hard wall again, groaning in frustration.

He didn't even mean it. Of course he wouldn't want to kill anyone, he wanted a throne, not bloodied hands! If given another opportunity, Hans would have just married Anna and been done with it. There was no doubt that he would be able to rule eventually, the queen wasn't immortal, after all. The past few days had forced him to realize all the better ways he could have gone about his entire scheme. The prince groaned loudly, hanging his head in shame. He probably wasn't ever going to see Princess Anna again. Not after what he said to her.

"Bored?" a female voice asked loudly from outside his cell, causing Hans to jerk violently in surprise. He hadn't heard anyone come in. He looked at the person standing in front of the door, and was surprised to see the young ginger princess there, holding the ring of keys in her hands.

"Why are you here?" Hans asked, his voice full of wonder. He wasn't expecting her to ever come back. He stared at her, eyebrows furrowed and mouth hanging open. Anna laughed at his expression and unlocked the door, stepping into the damp area. She seemed cheerful, her attitude confusing Hans. He thought she would at least be upset about what he had said to her the last time she had came.

"Close your mouth, Hans, you'll catch flies!" she said, smiling coyly. Hans closed his mouth with a snap, and raised a brow. Her attitude was suspicious.

"Why are you here?" he repeated. Anna grinned, and brought her hand from behind her back. In her fingers, she held a small black key. Hans stared at it blank faced for a moment, until he realized what it was.

"Is that the..." He gestured down at the heavy cuffs around his wrists, and then back at the key, eyes hopeful. Anna grinned and bounced over to him, fitting the key into the slot and removing the chains.

Hans' fingers immediately went to his wrists, touching them for the first time in more than a week. They were raw and scabbing over from where the rusty chains had scratched through sensitive skin, and Hans was grateful to finally have the cuffs removed. Before he could stop himself, a breathless and quiet "thank you" escaped his lips.

Anna stopped for a moment, seemingly frozen in place. Hans, too, had stiffened. But then, a small smile stretched the sides of the princess's lips. "You're welcome," she replied, outstretching a hand to help him up. Hans stared at it, wondering if he should take it or not. On an instinct that all stubborn men had, he decided against it and hoisted his weak form off the ground.

Anna watched with worried eyes as Hans got to his feet, her hands outstretched in front of her if he needed her help. But Hans was extremely stubborn, and managed to get to his feet quickly, casually leaning against the wall as if it were no big deal. (Little did Anna know, but the prince was putting his entire weight onto the wall in order to keep himself upright. Not standing for over a week was really taking a toll on his legs.)

"So," Hans began casually, curiosity taking over, "are we going somewhere, then?"

Anna nodded excitedly. She was practically bursting with poorly restrained positive energy as she squirmed with delight.

"Yes!" she exclaimed, her voice like high ringing bells. "But you can't tell anyone, it's a secret."

Hans rolled his eyes. "Oh no, what am I supposed to tell the dozens of friends I have down here with me? They're all dying to know my plans," he said sarcastically. "No, but really, what is it?"

Anna leaned in, a good three inches from his face, and whispered quietly. "You're going to…" Hans was almost tempted to lean in as well, the anticipation practically killing him.

"Yeah?" he asked, licking his chapped lips. He wasn't particularly fond of surprises, he wanted to know now.

Anna threw her hands up in the air. "You're getting a bath!" she squealed excitedly, grinning from ear to ear. Hans' face dropped.

He what?

"I'm getting a bath?" he deadpanned, not really knowing what to say. This was the big surprise? He was a little disappointed… but what was he supposed to expect? That he was getting off the hook for attempted murder and treason? As if.

Anna wasn't deterred by Hans' putt-off expression and continued to talk, taking the prince's hands in hers as she spoke. "Yep! It might not sound like much, but you're kinda super dirty and I thought you looked a bit uncomfortable the last time I came, so I was thinking: 'What would Hans like that he hasn't had in a while? A bath! And food! And a little sunlight!' So that's exactly what I'm giving you!"

The princess continued to blabber on, but Hans wasn't focused on her anymore. A new question had arisen in his mind: Why? Why was Anna going out of her way to do something for him? What had he done to earn this?

"-and we have to be really sneaky because I'm not really supposed to be visiting you, and no one's allowed to take you out of here, which I think is kind of unfair but when your sister's the queen what are you gonna do! ...Hans, are you listening?" Anna asked, tilting her head as she noticed Hans' blank expression. The prince shook his head, trying to clear his mind a little.

"Huh?"

Anna pouted a little, seemingly put-off by his lack of attention. "Did you hear what I just said?" she asked.

Hans shook his head, a guilty half-smile tugging up the side of his lips. "No, sorry. But Anna? Why are you doing this?" Anna looked confused.

"Doing what?"

Hans tried to better articulate himself, not sure how to go about asking her. "Why are you… being nice to me is what I'm trying to ask."

Anna stared at him for a moment before responding, as if she was trying to decide if he was being serious or not. "Two wrongs don't make a right. If I was mean to you, I wouldn't be solving anything." Hans blinked at her, dumbfounded.

"But Anna, I don't deserve to be treated nicely, Anna. I'm a bad person. I've done bad things."

Anna raised a brow, "So, should I treat you badly, then?" Hans didn't respond. The princess took his hands into hers again. "Come on, everyone believes in second chances, right? So, this is me, giving you a second chance." She laughed at Hans' blank expression, "Don't mess it up this time, okay? Now come on! You're going to need a lot of time scrubbing that dirt off, stinky!"

The princess then dragged Hans out of the cell, shushing him (though he wasn't the one giggling like a schoolgirl) the whole way down the hall.

* * *

Anna's logic was… off, to put it nicely. Her reasoning was if you didn't want to be seen, you wouldn't be. She had tried to parade Hans down the middle of the village square as if it was nothing, completely oblivious to the fact that Hans was a prisoner and she was a princess. Hans took it upon himself to lead the way to the castle, taking her down back alleys and bushes to get to their destination. He was grateful that Anna didn't ask how he knew his way around Arendelle. Not like he had memorized a thorough and detailed map of the entire area before leaving the Southern Isles. Pfft.

In no less than an hour, Hans and Anna had arrived at the back entrance of the castle and were quietly slipping in.

"My room is on the third floor along with Elsa's, so we have to be really quiet, okay?" Hans nodded, and tiptoed up the long and winding stairs behind the princess. Seeing the castle again, it was like an odd flashback. The ball after Elsa's coronation was suddenly a vivid memory, as if it had happened just yesterday. He could almost taste the chocolate fondue, and see the dancing ladies and the Duke of Weselton making a fool of himself. He could practically hear the soothing classical music in the background, one of his favorite compositions.

He looked over at Anna, who was dragging him up the stairs, much like she had dragged him around that night. A wave of guilt washed over him. He had completely led her on the night of her sister's coronation. Looking at her now, he realized she didn't deserve it, not in the slightest.

Hans silently stewed over the guilt and remained silent the rest of the trek up the stairs, not daring to make eye contact with Anna anymore. He couldn't bring himself to. He felt… ashamed.

They stopped outside a door and finally, Hans looked up. He guessed this was Anna's room, then. Anna pushed open the double doors and led the prince inside, poorly contained excitement plain on her face. God, she was cute.

Wait, what? Hans shook the thought from his mind with a visible shake of the head. Anna mistook it for wonder and giggled.

"It's big, right? A little too much if you ask me, but hey! I'm not complaining."

Hans thought his room back in the Isles might have been a tad bit bigger, but he didn't say anything. No need to ruin her excitement, not when she was going behind her own sister's back doing this for him.

Anna's mouth formed into a circle as she remembered why they were even in her room in the first place. She got to her knees and crawled under her bed, fishing out a stack of clothes.

"These _might _fit you. They're uniform for the guard but hey, not that different from what you're wearing now! Just... cleaner," she explained as she handed Hans the clothes.

"Oh, almost forgot!" The princess scuttled over to her dresser and pulled a large fluffy towel off the hook. She threw it at the prince and then pointed to a door.

"That'll lead you into the bathroom! The water is probably ready too, I asked a maid to prepare it before I got back."

"...Thank you." The words sounded foreign on his tongue, and he felt odd speaking them. But it was true, he was very grateful that Anna had done this for him, just to be nice.

A strong blush rose to his face as he saw the way Anna looked at him, almost as if she was a weird mix between surprised and proud.

Hans opened the door to the bathroom and awkwardly stepped in onto the cold tile. He turned back to Anna. "Thanks," he mumbled once more before shutting the door.

Anna blinked, still staring at the door though the prince was no longer there. Was that a thank you she had heard? A small giggle bubbled in her chest, and before she knew it, she had began to laugh, loud and uncontained. A deep blush bloomed on her face and she covered it with her hands.

Flopping onto her bed, she grabbed a pillow and crushed it between her arms in a hug. Hans had changed, and definitely for the better. He was beginning to become kinder, more like the Hans she met the day they opened the gates. She smiled into the pillow, muffling her laughter so Hans wouldn't hear her.

Hans had heard her. Definitely. Halfway through unbuttoning his filthy shirt, the princess had started her giggle-fest, startling the prince. Was she laughing at him? An embarrassed blush spread up his neck. Did he do something funny? Certainly nothing he was aware of...

He shook the thoughts from his mind, and stripped down out of the rest of his clothes.

The prince walked over to a large mirror, examining his reflection. God, he was filthy. Most of his arms were covered in a thin layer of dirt and blood, and his sun-deprived skin was littered with bruises. He definitely needed a shave, he observed as he rubbed his face. And probably a meal, he was far too skinny. But at the moment, he needed to deal with the dirt, and the smell. He grabbed a cloth and bar of soap and made his way over to the tub. Steam still rose from the soapy water and he felt a smile tug at the edges of his lips. It had been a long while since he'd had a bath.

Slipping into the tub, a long, unabashed moan escaped his lips. "Holy shit," he groaned, slipping further down into the heat of the tub. The warmth burned at first, but then it seeped into his skin and heated his bones, soothing his aching joints and muscles. He hadn't realized how tense he was until now, and the prince slowly allowed himself to unclench and relax.

After a long while of simply sitting in the warm water, Hans decided it would be best if he actually cleaned his body. Grabbing the rag, he began scrubbing his arms carefully, as to not upset the scabs that laid on his wrists. After a minute or two of washing, Hans could see his freckles once again. Oh, that was refreshing. Once his arms were clean he moved to his face, fiddling with his growing out sideburns and developing beard. He would definitely need to shave when his bath was done.

Once his body was clean, Hans reluctantly got out of the bath, drying his body with the fluffy towel Anna had given him. He tousled his ginger hair under the towel, and then slicked it back with his fingers for the time being. Wrapping the towel around his waist, he walked back over to the mirror and admired his now clean body. He was still skinny and bruised and pale, but at least he wasn't dirty. Sighing, he rubbed a hand over his chin, scratching at the light hairs growing from it. Beards did not suit him.

He looked around for a shaving blade briefly, and then decided the princess would not have one. He walked to the door and knocked.

"Anna? Do you by any chance have a-"

He didn't have time to finish his sentence before the door opened in front of him. He jumped backwards to avoid getting hit and let out a noise of surprise.

"Oh, I'm so sorry I didn't know you were right there and-" The princess looked down, and a bright red blush spread across her face. Hans, too, looked down, and his heart almost stopped. The towel that was once wrapped around his hips was now laying on the floor, his nether region completely exposed.

"I... uh... I," he stuttered, staring down at the towel in horror. Anna squeaked, handed him a blade and fresh shaving cream, presumably borrowed from a male servant, and slammed the door back in his face. "I'm so sorry!" her muffled voice called from behind the door.

Hans immediately grabbed the towel and wrapped it around his body, his ears burning in embarrassment. He knew he was well endowed and was quite confident in his body, but for Anna to see him naked was enough to make the prince completely flustered. He put his head in his hands and let the embarrassment take over for a mere ten seconds before forcing himself to calm down. Embarrassment did not suit him. He picked up the shaving blade and cream and walked over to the mirror, his ears still a bright red.

Anna on the other hand, was not calming down so easily. She was pacing around her room, pillow tightly held in her hands. She still couldn't comprehend what she had just done.

"Oh my god," she groaned, burying her head in the pillow. "I can't believe that happened."

It was an accident, she knew, but that wasn't the problem. It was the fact that she couldn't get the image of his lower body out of her mind. "You are a princess, Anna!" she told herself sternly, "you shouldn't be thinking about stuff like that!"

The image of his nether regions made its way into her mind again, and she almost screamed in frustration. "Gah, get out of my head!"

"What's in your head?" a voice came from behind her. A smug voice. She slowly turned around in horror as she saw Hans standing by the bathroom door, fully dressed now. The uniform fit him quite nicely, the deep reds of the jacket and the brown color of the pants combined with his ginger hair to make him look fiery. He had shaved as well, his usual sideburns now trimmed and proper looking on an otherwise hairless face.

The prince noticed the way Anna was staring at him and his smug little smirk widened. "Like what you see, Anna?" he asked.

"Yes." The words were out of Anna's mouth before she even had time to process what she was saying. Her eyes widened, and she slapped a hand over her mouth. "I… I mean. No! Wait, that's rude. Oh my god… oh my god." She awkwardly fumbled over her words, a bright blush heating her cheeks. Hans couldn't hold back his snicker as he watched her get increasingly flustered.

"Calm down there, princess," he interjected at last, taking pity on how embarrassed she was. "So, what now? Are we going back to the prison or…?" He didn't like the unpleasant shiver he felt as he thought about going back down to his dark and lonely cell, but he also couldn't think of anything else Anna might have had planned for him.

Anna snapped out of her mini panic and tilted her head, "Going back? So soon? Aren't you hungry?" she asked, confused. It had looked like the prince didn't like prison food, he was thinner than before, and on rare occasions she saw a completely full tray being taken away from his cell. Did he want to go back already..? She frowned in disappointment, she had a picnic basket packed and everything.

"I mean, if you want to go back, that's fine, but-"

"No!"

Hans' interjection startled the princess and she flinched backwards. Hans blushed slightly and straightened his back, clearing his throat. "I mean, if you had something else in mind…" he trailed off.

"Oh, okay… Well, there was one more thing," Anna started, immediately getting excited again. "Well I was thinking, since you haven't really ate much these past week or so… would you like to go somewhere? I have food packed and everything!"

Food? Hans perked up at the idea, and he agreed that it was a good idea. Anna grabbed hold of his arm and once again, she was dragging him along, picking up a basket next to her door before closing it. The thing was bulging with food, Hans could see, and he subtly took it from Anna's hands while they descended down the stairs. Christ, it was heavy.

They quickly and quietly made their way out of the castle, taking a grassy path hidden behind a tangle of vines to get to the place Anna was thinking of.

"It's really pretty there! There's tons of flowers and a willow tree, and the sun shines perfectly on your face around midday! I think you'll like it, Hans!" she giggled, "But I think you'll like the food even better!"

She looked down to her hands and her smile disappeared. "Oh no! The basket! Did I forget to bring it with me?" She stopped suddenly, causing a closely following Hans to bump into her. She turned to face him, face crumbling with despair. "Hans, we have to go back and get it!"

Hans raised a brow, and lifted his hand that held the basket. "I don't think so," he said, offering her a half smile. Anna stared at the basket and her face suddenly lit up once more.

"When did you get that?" she asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"It looked heavy, so I took it from you before we left the castle," Hans explained briefly before motioning her forward, "Come on, let's go before the guards actually realize I'm gone."

Anna agreed and kept moving, faster this time. "We're almost there, not much longer," she said after a minute or two, the exit of the path approaching. When they reached the end, Anna pointed up to a sloping hill, a willow tree resting at the top. "There it is!" she exclaimed, tugging Hans by the arm.

They jogged up the hill, Anna hardly out of breath, and Hans nearly struggling for him. He wondered if there was some sort of workout program for prisoners where they could work on their cardio instead of sitting in a cell. Probably not.

They finally reached the top, and Anna brushed the willow trees long vines out of the way, letting Hans into the shady inside. She smiled guiltily at his blotchy pink cheeks, "Sorry, I forgot you haven't really moved around much since before…"

Hans brushed off her apology and sat the basket down on the ground. "It's fine." He plopped down next to the basket, Anna sitting across from him. The princess opened the basket and pulled out two sandwiches, and handed one to Hans. Then, she pulled out crackers, cheese, assorted fruits, a bottle of wine, a small jug of water, and plates for everything. Hans raised an eyebrow. Was there someone else coming, or was Anna just completely over prepared? He guessed the latter was much more likely.

Unwrapping the sandwich, the prince fought the urge to scarf the thing down. Instead, he forced himself to take small and polite bites, suppressing an urge to moan at how good it was. It had been so long since he had actually eaten anything. He had refused his thrice-daily meals for the past two days, and his stomach was completely empty. Anna poured them both a glass of water, neither of them really being fond of wine. Hans drained his within a few minutes, and sat it down next to him. While he wasn't looking, Anna filled it back up to the brim, and sat a few crackers down on a napkin next to his plate. She watched as he unconsciously ate them, not even noticing the fact that he was picking things up that weren't there before.

Anna spoke as he ate, attempting to distract him enough that he would eat more than a full meal without realizing. He definitely needed the extra calories. She asked him about random things that popped into her mind, small talk really. "What's your favorite color? What do you do in your free time? If you had a power like Elsa, what would you want? How old are you, anyways? Twenty-three?! When's your birthday? Winter or summer?"

Hans answered them all simply, with short sentences and one-worded answers. He had scooted closer to Anna as they spoke, and they were now merely inches away from each other. Hans didn't notice this, of course, he simply did it out of habit. Soon, Hans was growing a bit full, and flipped the questions onto Anna.

The princess, of course, gave him lengthy replies full of unnecessary details, and was completely oblivious to how much Hans was enjoying her talk. His legs were crossed, elbow resting on his thigh as his palm held up his head, a blissful smile on his lips as he watched her speak. He never really realized until recently, but Anna was actually really endearing. In the beginning, he found her awkwardness and poorly contained excitement irritating, but now… now he wasn't so sure. He actually found it… kind of cute.

He didn't notice when Anna trailed off, finally seeing his expression. She blushed heavily under his gaze and easily grew flustered. The prince seemed completely unperturbed by her little panic, instead smiling more. She noticed how the sides of his large and bright green eyes crinkled when he laughed. Oh no, he laughed. His laugh was cute. She could feel the word vomit bubbling in her gut, and knew it was only a matter of time before she said something stupid. Her eyes flew to Hans' hand, which still held a bite or two of his sandwich. Without thinking, she grabbed it from him and stuffed it in her mouth.

Hans stared at her, his eyes widening with disbelief. Anna stared right back, a similar deer-in-headlights look on her face as she chewed the food.

"Did you just finish my…" Hans looked at his now empty hand, completely at a loss for words.

"Sandwich?" she offered weakly, the word muffled by the large bite she had taken. He nodded slowly. She swallowed the rest of the food and held her hands up, "I'm sorry," she began before launching into a long and drawn out explanation. As she spoke, she got increasingly flustered.

"-and I didn't want to say anything stupid so I was just thinking I should stop myself from saying anything! So I just grabbed your food and ate it… it seemed like a rational decision at the time and I- Hans, stop laughing! This isn't funny."

The prince was chuckling into his hand, watching her with amused eyes. She frowned at him, pursing her lips, as if she wasn't amused by his mirth. The smile disappeared from his lips completely. The prince's brows furrowed in confusion as his heart fluttered and his ears grew red. His gaze hardened, and suddenly he was leaning closer towards the princess, closing up the remaining inches between them until they were eye to eye.

"H-Hans?" Anna squeaked out, a blush turning her whole face red. "What are you-"

"Don't get mad, Anna," the prince mumbled quietly, before he leaned further in, closing the gap entirely as his lips landed on Anna's.

The princess's eyes grew wide, but she didn't dare break away. Her mind was instantly full of questions. _What? Why was Hans kissing her? Was she dreaming? What? What? WHAT?!_

And then the kiss was over, just as soon as it had started. Hans moved back an inch, his green eyes fluttering open to look into Anna's blue ones. Then without warning, he yanked back and a flurry of hasty apologies flew from his mouth. Frankly, it was ruining the moment, and Anna did the only thing she could think of. She grabbed Hans by the arm and pulled him back towards her, crashing their lips together clumsily.

The prince was surprised, to say the least. His eyes were opened wide for a split second, but then he melted into the kiss, allowing his eyes to flutter shut. He knew kissing her was completely out of line and wrong, but at the moment he simply didn't care. Because it felt so, _so _right. His hand went up to Anna's cheek, cupping her face gently with his palm and rubbing her freckles with his thumb. A blissful sigh escaped the princess's lips, letting Hans know that she was enjoying this just as much as he was.

When Hans pulled back, his cheeks were flushed and his eyes bright. Anna blushed furiously and looked at the ground.

"So... that happened," the prince said breathlessly, suppressing the urge to grin. Anna nodded, a small squeak of agreement leaving her lips. Hans chuckled, and let his hand drop from the princess's face.

He looked up at the horizon, noticing the warm orange colors of the sky, and the way the receding sun shined against Anna's bright ginger hair. He sighed.

"It's probably time to take me back," he said reluctantly, frowning in disappointment. He was far from ready to go back to his cell.

Anna, too, seemed hesitant to agree. But if the guards saw that Hans wasn't where he was supposed to be, Elsa would be alerted and the prince would be in far worse trouble than he already was. She got to her feet, brushing crumbs off her dress. "I guess you're right..." she mumbled. Hans picked up the picnic basket, thankful to find that it was much lighter than before. Anna noticed the somewhat upset expression of the prince. "Well, let's get going!" she said, trying to sound cheerful. She didn't really want to ruin the mood. Grabbing Hans' arm, she began walking down the hill and chattering about random things she had done in her life. She didn't stop talking until they reached the prison.

* * *

The two stood outside Hans' cell, neither of them moving. Anna had yet to take the keys out of her dress pocket. Hans had yet to say anything. Finally, the footsteps of guards coming in for their daily rounds broke the silence. Anna grabbed the keys from her pocket and fumbled around, trying to find the correct one. Hans' hands were on the bars, ready to push open the door once it was unlocked. "Hurry!" Hans hissed as the footsteps drew nearer.

"I'm trying!" Anna snapped back as she jammed another key into the lock. Turning it, a loud sigh of relief escaped their mouths and Hans rushed into the cell. Anna locked the door again, just in time. The guards came walking up, angry looks on their faces.

"My lady," they said gruffly as they bowed. "We heard commotion, are you alright?"

Anna straightened herself out and puffed out her chest, trying to appear strong. Hans bit back his snicker. "Yes, I'm fine, thank you."

The guards looked past the princess to glare at Hans. "This rat wasn't giving you any trouble, was he?"

Anna assured them he wasn't, and risked a glance back at the prince. The look she gave him asked: '_What kind of trouble do you get yourself into_?' Hans just smirked.

The guards, once assured that no harm had come to the princess, they continued making their rounds. One of them turned back to Anna. "You should be getting back home, my lady. It'll be dark soon."

Anna nodded and curtsied to them. "Of course! Oh, and... don't mention this to Elsa. If she knew I was down here she would flip." The guards nodded, and walked away. Once they were completely out of view, Anna turned to Hans.

"I can visit tomorrow if you'd like," she whispered. Hans nodded.

"Sure."

"I have to go now, though. I think we're having Kristoff over for dinner. See you tomorrow!" She turned around to leave, but Hans reached out and grabbed her hand. The princess turned to him and gave him a curious look.

"Uh... I just wanted to thank you for today," he said slowly. "It was nice of you."

Anna grinned, "No problem! We can do something similar tomorrow if you want!" He nodded and released her hand, a small smile on his face.

"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow."

Anna waved, and then quickly took off down the hall.

Hans watched her retreating form with a sincere grin, not minding the butterflies that flew around his chest. Sighing with bliss, he recounted the day he had had with a happy heart. Sitting down on the cot provided, he bit his lip. He could almost taste Anna's lips, a reminder that they had been on his own no more then an hour before now.

He laughed quietly, leaning back against the wall, recalling what the princess had said to him.

"Everyone deserves second chances."

He hadn't thought the rule would apply to him, all those years living under his brothers taught him it was a harsh, unforgiving world. He had never been to happy to know that he was wrong. He had gotten a second chance with Anna.

He wasn't going to screw it up this time.

* * *

Elsa, Anna, and Kristoff all sat at a long dinner table, a somewhat comfortable silence between them. Anna smiled over at Kristoff, who was directly across from her. He smiled back. Elsa noticed this, and a smirk grew on her lips. "Did you two have fun today?" she asked, trying to start a conversation.

Kristoff looked confused, "What do you mean? We didn't hang out today." Anna hummed in agreement and took a sip of her drink. She choked when she realized what she had just done.

She had told Elsa she was going to spend time with Kristoff today. That was her cover up to hide the fact that she was going to meet Hans.

Oh no.

"I-I mean... of course we hung out! B-but... it was..? We hung out today," she poorly lied. Kristoff gave her a look that said she was crazy.

"No, we didn't. I was working today. Didn't you say you were going to see Hans-" Anna cut the iceman off before he went any further, but the damage was done. A short silence filled the large dining room.

Then Elsa stood up, her brows furrowed angrily. "You went to see Hans?" she asked, her voice raising. "Anna, I told you not to! He isn't safe."

Anna was almost confused at her sister's words. What did she mean, Hans was dangerous? Were they even talking about the same person?

But then, in a moment of clarity, she remembered what had happened just two weeks before. It was funny how easy it was to forget that he had done wrong, when you had such a forgiving nature as Anna. Seeing him now, you wouldn't have guessed. I mean, she was kissing him just a few hours before this moment!

"I just wanted to talk to him," Anna tried to explain, attempting to drop the subject. But it seemed Elsa would not give up that easily.

"Anna, he's a bad person. If you visit him, he'll manipulate you and try to hurt you again. I told you that no one was allowed to visit him. How could you lie to me and go behind my back?"

Now Anna was beginning to get mad. Who was Elsa to decide what she could or couldn't do? Yes, she was the queen, but she was also her sister, and didn't truly have authority over her in that sense. "Why does it matter to you, Elsa? Why do you care if I go to see him? What's he going to do, kill me with the hands that are _chained to a wall_?"

"Anna, he tried to kill you! He left you in a room to freeze to death!"

"You were the one who froze my heart in the first place!"

It was a low blow, and Anna regretted it as soon as the words left her mouth. Elsa shrunk back, her eyes filling with tears.

"Elsa- I'm sorry. I didn't mean it-" Anna tried to say, taking a step towards her sister. The icequeen took a step back, her eyes growing hard.

"You are not allowed to visit Prince Hans anymore. As the queen of Arendelle, I forbid you. If I find out that you're doing it behind my back… there will be punishments." Elsa cast her eyes down on the ground, her voice wavering but still holding the authority of royalty. She was completely serious about this.

"Elsa!"

"I'll be in my room. Thank you for coming to dinner, Kristoff. Goodnight." With that, the queen hastily exited the room, leaving a thin trail of glittering ice behind her.

Anna watched her sister leave, fuming with anger. Hot tears rolled down her cheeks, and she clenched her fists. This was completely unfair! How dare she? The princess turned to Kristoff, who was looking back in forth between Anna and the door that Elsa had left from.

He sensed that he wasn't welcome in the room anymore.

"I'm gonna go…" he said slowly, getting up from his chair. "I'm sorry Anna, that was a bit unfair of her." The iceman understood why Elsa didn't want Anna visiting the treasonous prince, but it wasn't fair to order her around.

Anna didn't reply to him. Kristoff laughed nervously, and made a beeline for the door.

Then Anna was completely alone. Tears freely fell down her face. She wasn't allowed to see Hans anymore. She remembered how she promised him that she would visit him tomorrow. Would he be upset that she didn't come?

Falling to her knees, Anna openly wept.

And from inside his cell, Hans was thinking about tomorrow, a blissful smile on his face.

* * *

**A/N: SO THAT HAPPENED... long chapter... took a long time. **

**GOOD NEWS: i've planned out the rest of the chapters for this story and will be working on all of them soon enough.  
BAD NEWS: i'm going to need you all to go onto my profile and take part in my poll. i need some good names for hans' brothers, because a few of them will be making appearances later on. this isn't bad news. go take my poll.**

**i actually have a tumblr blog where i'll be posting a bit about the story and other stuff, like headcanons, original characters, writing tips, blah blah blah. you should go check it out! the url is numba24601 . tumblr . com!**

**hope you liked the update, please review, as always! simon out. B)**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: HAHA... LONG TIME NO UPDATE. MY BAD! **  
**WARNING: THIS CHAPTER GETS A TEENSY BIT RAUNCHY NEAR THE END. **

* * *

Elsa walked down the damp halls of the dungeon, her hands clasped together tightly. She held herself high and proudly, trying not to show just how nervous she was.

She was going to see Hans. After the encounter with her sister last night, she felt it was necessary. She needed to speak with the prince. Both to find out what he was trying to do with Anna and to make sure he didn't have any nefarious plans up his sleeve. She had no doubt there was a similar motive as the first time Hans had swept Anna off her feet. The prince was not to be trusted. She had no idea why Anna still did.

When she approached Prince Hans' cell, she heard the sounds of chains clinking together and soft footsteps.

"Anna?" Hans called, thinking the footsteps in the hall were coming from Elsa's sister. The queen walked towards the cell, finally appearing in Hans' line of vision. The prince stepped backwards, brows furrowed.

"Queen Elsa," he said after a moment, warily. "What are you doing here?"

"Were you expecting someone else?" the queen retaliated, cocking a brow. She was not usually this unpleasant, but under circumstances like this, she had to be cold. Hans was not to be trusted, she couldn't let her guard down around him.

The prince was starting to get an uneasy feeling in his gut. He shuffled around uncomfortably, purposefully keeping his eyes on the ground.

"Hans, it's come to my attention that you've been seeing Anna," she began, noticing the way he stiffened. "Why?"

When he didn't answer, Elsa grew agitated. She gripped one of the bars of the cell and glared in at the prince. "You're trying to use her again, aren't you?" The idea made her blood boil with anger. How dare he even think of trying that again? The temperature in the dungeon dropped noticeably.

Hans shivered at the change, but remained silent. Trying to argue would only make her angrier, and it wasn't as if she would believe anything that came out of his mouth. So, he bit his tongue and held back any cheeky reply he might have had in store for the queen.

Elsa took his silence as an agreement. "Why?" she asked again, "What will you gain from breaking her heart again?" It wasn't as if he could weasel his way onto Arendelle's throne, not anymore. The people wouldn't accept him. Was it simply fun to him?

Still, there was no response.

"Why are you not saying anything, Hans?" Elsa demanded, trying to make eye contact with the prince. He seemed adamant on making sure they wouldn't.

Finally, after what seemed an eternity, Hans spat out a response. "What is it you'd like me to say, _Elsa_?" His cocky attitude had returned. He was getting annoyed by the accusations she was throwing at him.

"It's not what I want you to say, it's what I want you to do! Or, in this case, not do."

"Such as?"

Elsa took a deep breath, and Hans knew he was about to get a mouthful. "You are not allowed to see my sister. You are not allowed to twist your words and play with her like she's a doll. You will not speak to her. If she ever comes down here, you won't even _look_ at her. As Queen, I forbid it. If I find out that you've broken any of these rules, there will be severe punishments."

Hans' heart stuttered over a beat, but he refused to let any emotion show. Elsa frowned, she thought her words would elicit at least some kind of reaction from him. If she was going to get anywhere, she'd have to go deeper. Clearing her throat, a small smirk made its way to the corners of her lips.

"And anyways, Hans, it's not like she would visit you anyways." She chuckled, forcing her eyes to meet his. "Don't you know you aren't the only one who knows how to lead people on?"

Relishing in the dumbfounded look the prince gave her, Elsa turned on her heels and left the dungeon, her blue dress swishing side to side as her hips swayed in triumph.

Hans watched her leave with wide eyes, unsure of what to think. He knew she was lying, she had to be! But the more he thought about it, the more everything started to make sense.

It was plausible that Anna was playing him, as a means to get revenge. What girl didn't relish in payback? The prince slunk back the the corner of his cell, eyebrows furrowed with mixed emotions.

He didn't know Anna well, he had known her for little more than a few hours before getting engaged to her! So, he was unsure if the princess would actually do something like this. Would she use his own methods against him? Pay him back by doing the same he had done to her? It made sense.

He slumped against the wall, his knees suddenly feeling weak. The idea of Anna tricking him made his stomach queasy. He realized with a sudden dread that this was what she must have felt when he revealed his plans to her that night. Angry, confused, hollow.

As he buried his head in his hands, Hans knew he would not be seeing Anna for a very long while.

Anna laid in the large bed of her room, arms stretched out on either side of her. Not far from her was Kristoff, who was sitting on the edge of her bed.

"Anna, you know it's for the best," he tried again, attempting to give her the speech he had been practicing since last night. "Your sister is just trying to protect you."

Anna groaned and flopped over, her face now buried in a pillow. Kristoff could hear mumbled words from her, and just barely made out a "'s not fairrrr".

He chuckled and pat her leg comfortingly. "You aren't gonna die from not seeing him, Anna." When she didn't respond Kristoff continued, "Besides, why do you want to see him so badly? Isn't he like, a massive douche?"

Anna gasped and flipped back over, glaring at the ice man. "He is a prince!" she exclaimed.

Kristoff grinned, "That doesn't mean he's not an asshole," he retaliated. The princess rolled her eyes and sat up in her bed, crossing her legs. "I'm curious, Anna. Why are you giving him a second chance? Is it really worth it?" He knew the princess was kind, but allowing a conniving prince back into her heart was… reckless.

The ginger-haired princess frowned as she nodded, "Everyone deserves a second chance, Kristoff. Even Hans… especially Hans."

"Why's that?"

Anna's bright blue eyes met Kristoff's. "You didn't see him down in his cell. He was dirty and tired and weak, and he didn't even eat the food his guards would give him. At first I thought it was pitiful and that he deserved everything he got, but then I thought about it. And I realized I didn't know the real Prince Hans. The day we met-when the gates were finally opened-he was playing a game with me. He wasn't himself, no matter how charming it was. The night you brought me back to Arendelle after my sister had frozen my heart… that wasn't him either. That boy in the dungeons… that's Hans. At least, a broken version of him"

"A pathetic, scared little boy you mean?" Kristoff enjoyed playing devil's advocate.

Anna gave him a hard look, "A prince who never had a chance to prove his worth to his brothers."

Kristoff was taken aback. His confused look led Anna to elaborate and the ice man leaned in, taking in her words.

"Hans is the thirteenth in line for the throne. That means he has absolutely no chance of becoming King of the Southern Isles. The only way he'll be able to rule is by marrying into a throne." Kristoff was about to scoff and tell her that was no excuse for trying to kill the queen, but Anna quickly cut him off before he could speak. "His brothers are terrible to him, from what he's told me. They've told him he wouldn't amount to anything, that he was nothing. They've bullied him, beat him, and its taken a toll on him."

Kristoff was at a loss of words. He continued to look at Anna, eyebrows furrowed.

"That's why he did what he did. To prove him brothers wrong… To mean something."

"...I didn't know," Kristoff said finally, reaching out a hand and placing it over Anna's, squeezing it reassuringly. He hadn't known the backstory behind Hans and had just assumed he was just a power-hungry asshole, but now that he knew about his brothers, things were slightly different. It didn't excuse his actions, but he could understand why Hans did what he had.

"Is this a big deal to you, Anna?" he asked. The princess nodded.

"Hans deserves a second chance, it's not right to lock him up and isolate him like this!" she exclaimed, frustrated at her sister's words last night.

Kristoff bit his tongue, knowing he would regret his next words. "Listen, Anna, I can help you out here. If you need to see Hans, I'll distract Elsa. You can sneak down there and visit him."

Anna looked up at Kristoff, her blue eyes sparkling. "You'd do that for me?!"

The blond ice man nodded, smiling a little. It would be tricky and most definitely awkward, distracting the ice queen, but he knew he could do it. Probably. Maybe… Hopefully.

Anna grinned and let out something that Kristoff swore was a _squeal_ and hugged him gleefully, kissing his cheek over and over. "Thank you thank you thank you!" she exclaimed, smiling from ear to ear. Then she stiffened and leaned back, staring into his eyes. "Do you think I could go right now?!"

The blond shrugged, knowing it wasn't really the best idea. "Elsa will have the dungeons on high alert after last night. I wouldn't risk it."

Anna frowned and her shoulders slumped, but she knew Kristoff was right.

"Maybe after a few days she'll let her guard down?" Kristoff suggested.

"Yeah, maybe," Anna replied, all traces of her good mood quickly disappearing. She wondered what Hans was doing right now. She had promised him she would come today. Anna sighed, would he be mad at her?

Hans was definitely mad. It had been four days. Four. Days. And there was no sign of Princess Anna. The doubts in his mind grew exponentially everyday. Anna had to have been playing him. She had to have been. It had been too long since he heard the sound of her footsteps echoing down the hall. He missed her, as mad at it made him, he really did. He missed the company.

So the next day, when he heard footsteps rush down the hall in a quiet pitter patter, he didn't look up. He didn't expect it to be Anna, it couldn't have been Anna. But when the footsteps stopped outside his cell, he chanced a glance at the door. As his eyes trailed up a familiar blue dress, more and more surprise filled him.

"Anna?" he whispered, too quiet to be heard by the ginger princess, who was smiling shyly and giving him a tiny wave. The prince was too dumbfounded to say any more.

The princess quickly unlocked the cell door and tiptoed in. "When do the guards come back to make their rounds?" she asked in a whisper. Hans didn't reply, instead gaping at her like a fish out of water.

Anna took in his appearance and nearly cringed. He looked awful. His hair was a tangled mess, sticking up at odd ends and looking like he had been ripping through it constantly. His eyes were sunken in and were shadowed by dark circles. While his garb wasn't as dirty as it had been before, it was definitely wrinkled and unsightly. Hans had discarded the jacket and left only the vest and shirt on, the top of the shirt unbuttoned to reveal a pale and freckled chest, skin stretching tightly across his collar bones.

"Are you alright?" Anna asked in concern, her brows knitting together. Hans didn't answer and instead looked to the ground. "What's wrong?"

Hans didn't know why, but he was suddenly filled with fiery anger. What was wrong? Was he alright? What the hell did Anna expect him to say?! That he was fine? Was he supposed to lie and tell her everything was completely dandy, that he totally didn't stay awake and ponder over her sister's words, that he didn't make himself sick with worry and doubt? A spark was ignited in Hans, and he couldn't stop the flurry of spiteful words that spewed from his lips.

"Where the hell have you been, Anna? You said you would come the next day, but you never showed up! It's been five days, and the only visitor I got was your… your sister! Do you think it's funny, coming down here to try your hand at playing me? Because I can tell you now, it's not going to work! She already told me everything. I didn't expect you to be the revenge kind of girl, Anna. So go ahead and leave and save yourself the trouble. You don't have to bother yourself with me anymore."

His chest heaved with every word, angry tears pricking at his eyes. When Anna didn't move, he got to his feet, glaring down at her. "Leave," he hissed through grit teeth.

The princess looked confused and backed away a step.

"Hans, what are you talking about?"

The prince scoffed. "What do you think I'm talking about? Your sister came here and told me. Told me that you were leading me on, just like I had with you. Stop pretending, Anna."

Anna stared dumbfounded at Hans. Elsa had told him what?!

"Hans, I don't know what exactly Elsa said, but I can promise you it's not true. She banned me from coming here!" she tried to explain, but Hans wasn't buying it. The prince was stubborn, and obviously believed Elsa's words. So she did the only thing she could think of. She kissed him. She took two swift steps forward so that their chests were touching, laced her hands around his neck, and yanked him down for a kiss.

Hans was surprised, and began to push her away until he realized just how good it felt. It felt amazing to touch another human again, after five days without contact with anyone but the guards. He hesitated at first but then melted into the kiss, hands clutching at Anna's waist desperately as he pushed them closer together. In that moment, he didn't care if what Elsa had said was true. He needed this. He needed to feel something again. So when he deepened the kiss, Anna obliging happily, any thought he once held slipped from his mind entirely. The only thing on his mind was Anna. Kissing Anna.

His hands went to move up her sides, but the iron shackles that were tightly secured around his wrists made it impossible. He broke the kiss to look down at them and then looked back to Anna, a silent question in his eyes.

"Oh, right!" the princess said a bit breathlessly, fishing the keys from her dress pocket and unlocking the moment they slipped off his wrists Hans was kissing her again, flipping around to press her against the wall. His hands roamed freely up and down her torso, stopping every once in a while when he grabbed onto something.

Anna kissed back excitedly, she was sloppy and inexperienced, but Hans didn't mind. And when she quietly moaned into the kiss, the prince lost any ounce of control he once had. His kisses trailed from the corner of her mouth down to her neck, where he bit and nipped and sucked on her freckled skin, creating light pink colored bruises.

"Hans," she mumbled before sucking in a sharp breath as the prince bit down hard. Her grip in his hair tightened and she worried her lip, a bright blush spreading across her cheeks. Hans smiled against her neck, placing more and more kisses on her skin. His hand wandered down her backside before finding her rump and gave it a playful squeeze, causing her to gasp again, this time in surprise. "Hans!" she exclaimed.

"What?" he replied with a hint of a chuckle.

"What are you doing?"

Hans cocked a brow, "Touching your butt, of course." He gave it an extra squeeze for clarification. Anna was about to say something else, so Hans cut her off by kissing her again, one hand moving up to undo her braided hair. He ran his fingers through the ginger locks before clenching them in his fist, pulling her closer even though there was hardly anymore space in between them.

Hans felt his pants grow tighter as time went on, and the need for friction grew ever stronger. He grinded up against Anna's crotch, biting back a groan. Anna gasped as she felt his erection against her and broke the kiss to look up at him.

"Too far?" he asked, biting his lip. That was probably the case, even he felt that he was taking it a bit too quickly. (That didn't mean he wanted to stop, though.)

The prince was pleasantly surprised when Anna shook her head and pressed herself up against him, standing on her toes to kiss him again. Hans eagerly complied with her wishes and he kissed her once more, both hands travelling to her butt again.

Things would have continued, Hans liked to think, if only the guards weren't due for their rounds at that moment. Both of them froze as they heard footsteps coming down the hall, eyes widening as they stared at each other.

Anna pushed Hans backwards, not meaning to be harsh, but sending him stumbling just a bit. "I need to leave!" she hissed urgently, moving to leave the cell. Hans grabbed her wrist.

"Not yet!" he whispered back, "They'll definitely catch you if you go out that way."

"They'll catch me if I'm in here with you!"

Hans desperately looked around for anywhere she could hide but came up blank. The cell was a simple square cube, there was no corner to hide in, and he knew the guards liked to pay him special attention when they made his rounds. Mostly to sneer and make rude remarks, and there was no doubt the extra attention would get her caught. His eyes landed on a corner outside his cell where the wall jutted out. He pointed it out to Anna.

"There, go there! If you're quiet, they might not notice you." Hans let go of her wrist and urged her to move quickly. The footsteps were growing closer.

Anna moved faster than he ever thought was possible towards the corner, pressing her back against the wall to take up as little space as possible. The spot wasn't a good hiding place, but it was as good as the princess was going to get.

Hans walked forward towards the cell doors, knowing he would have to distract the guards. He left his shackles unbound, and when the guards walked up to his cell, he gave them a snarky smirk.

"Evening, boys," he said, placing one hand behind his back and the other across his chest, bowing mockingly.

"Hey! Where are your cuffs?!" one of them shouted, grabbing his keys and moving to unlock the cell door. Hans moved back some, catching Anna's eye and then looking at the now empty hallway. The princess got the message, and slowly creeped out of the corner, watching the prison guards with worried eyes. They were too involved with Hans to notice her.

"How the hell did you get out of those?" Big Nose, as Hans had endearingly dubbed him, asked as he poked an accusing finger into Hans' shoulder. "Are you hiding a key somewhere?"

The prince rolled his eyes. "No, you imbecile. You two are just terribly unskilled at locking those in place. Anyone could get out of those rusty things." It wasn't smart to egg them on, he had bruises to prove it, but he had to get Anna out of there. Both of them were equally screwed if they were caught.

"You cheeky bastard, come here, lemme teach you a lesson!" Dog Breath yelled, moving towards the prince and grabbing him by the neck. "Go get the cuffs, Geromy."

"Geromy? I was under the impression it was Big Nose!"

The one earned him a fist in the gut. He sunk into the blow, falling to his knees, and hoarse groan escaping his lips. He heard Anna gasp and sent her a warning glare, telling her to go. Now. He could tell the princess didn't want to leave him to get beat up, but she had no choice. Anna sucked in a breath and turned away, scurrying down the hall as quickly as she could.

Dog Breath hit him again, this time on his shoulder, causing him to collapse, his cheek scraping against the hard stone floor. Hans winced but didn't move, fear of getting beat keeping him in place. Big Nose came up with his cuffs and yanked both his hands behind his back, securing them tightly into place. Then Dog Breath yanked him upwards by the hair, glaring at the prince.

"I don't suggest doing that again," he hissed, terrible breath wafting into Hans' face.

"I suggest brushing your teeth every once in a while. It really does help."

He was prepared for the slap.

"C'mon Geromy, let's not waste our time here. We still have to finish our rounds."

The two guards left Hans in his cell, slamming the iron bars shut. Hans watched them leave, his cheek burning.

He fell to his side, finding it hard to move when his hands were bound behind his back. His body ached everywhere, but still he couldn't find himself thinking about anything but his time with Anna. The prince bit his lip and suppressed a grin. He could still taste her on his lips.

* * *

**A/N: again, really sorry bout the late update! it was my birthday a few days ago and im not super into this story anymore, but i'm working on it! i do hope i warned you that theres going to be actual smut in this. hope im not too terrible at it.  
NOTE: sorry if elsa is majorly ooc! she's meant to be SOMEWHAT of the "bad guy" here so i had to twist some things. just so you know, she's doing all of this to protect her little sister, she definitely has her best interests in mind!  
ANOTHER NOTE: sorry if there are major spelling errors or if there are awkward sentences. fanfiction likes to cut out specific parts of my sentences and i dont know why. **

**review and tell me what you think! **


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